These are original British Army issue ice axes made during WWII for use by Mountain Troops. They appear to be in almost unissued condition. No wear to the metal parts. The wooden handle looks like it was finished by hand whittling and is not fitted with the precision one expects of German or Austrian ice axes, but there was a war on, eh? Each axe comes with a leather head protector consisting of two leather pouches connected by an elastic strap.

Although the 52nd Lowland Division was the only large formation trained for mountain work (and then was converted to another mission), many Special Forces units went through mountain warfare training either in Scotland or in the Middle East school in Lebanon during WWII. These included SAS, LRDG, PPA, and several Commandos.